She’s played a bouncy Mouseketeer, a dreamy college student and a ruthless Russian assassin . Now, in The Diplomat , Keri Russell is Kate Wyler, the US ambassador to the UK, a job in which she ricochets around as if she’s trapped in a pinball machine.

The collision between that official position and her personal circumstances regularly rattle the character. The actress, though, appears to have taken major gear changes through her varied career in her stride.

Russell made her unplanned TV debut as a teenager after accompanying friends to an open casting call where she was offered a place in The All New Mickey Mouse Club . But as the title character in J.J. Abrams’ romantic coming-of-age drama, Felicity (1998-2002), she really made an impact.

Her next major TV role could not hav

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